The Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) have had a dramatic effect on electronic commerce and network services such as Internet access, client/server application services, and traditional services such as e-mail. Network service providers try to make using the Web and purchasing goods and services online easier, faster, and more secure for customers. To accomplish this, a typical network service transaction may involve a three-way relationship between a consumer, a specialized service provider, and a general service provider.
The general service provider may provide a set of standard or core services to any number of specialized service providers. These core services are directed not only to simplifying consumer access to Web sites associated with the specialized service providers, but are also directed to providing authentication and security to both the consumers and specialized service providers. For instance, by letting consumers register a single time at the general service provider, a consumer can create a single user name and password that works across all specialized service provider sites that are signed up with the general service provider. This eliminates the need for consumers to separately register with specialized service providers and remember multiple sign-in names and passwords.
Additionally, allowing a consumer to register once at the general service provider to obtain any number of specialized services presents a specialized provider with a consistent way to refer to individuals, groups, and companies online; a way to notify them of important events; and to obtain data to orchestrate Web services, and devices on behalf of consumers, with full consumer consent. However, even though conventional consumer registration techniques have these and other benefits, they are also substantially limited for a number of reasons.
For instance, the generalized provider of core user registration services typically presents a registration page to a user that includes a number of user interface (UI) elements to collect specific information from the user or consumer. The registration page typically enforces collection of a fixed set of data that cannot be modified by participating specialized service providers. This means that a specialized service provider typically has no control over the arrangement, formatting, or content of the registration page UI elements that are used to collect consumer specific data. Thus, conventional consumer registration techniques on behalf specialized service providers are not particularly flexible in their integration with the specific or dedicated services of the specialized providers.
These and other limitations of conventional consumer registration techniques provided by a generalized provider on behalf of specialized providers are addressed by the following described arrangements and procedures.